Flatmates
by upthenorthmountain
Summary: Modern AU, unapologetically British. Inspired by an anonymous headcanon minnothebunny received on tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

****ROOM TO LET****

In modern 2-bedroom flat

Ten minutes walk from THIS NOTICEBOARD

Large shared kitchen & living room

Non-smokers only please

Ring ANNA ext. 1842

* * *

Kristoff had lived with Sven since their second year of university. They'd shared a grotty flat, then a grotty two-up-two-down terraced house, then a slightly nicer flat, and now the nicest flat yet. But now Sven was getting married, which apparently meant that it was time for Kristoff to sling his hook. And he could do with living somewhere more convenient for work, anyway.

The 18- extensions were in marketing. Was there an Anna in marketing? Presumably.

She was probably looking for another woman.

But she hadn't _said_ it had to be a woman. And, honestly, everything he'd found so far had either been miles away or falling down or filthy or the size of a broom cupboard. A call wouldn't hurt.

* * *

"Good-afternoon-Anna-speaking-how-may-I-help-you?"

"Ah, hi - I'm ringing about the ad you put up in the break room? About the room to let?"

"Oh! Yes! Hi! Are you interested? I mean of course you're interested or you wouldn't have _rung_. It's on Station Road, near the top end by the Vauxhall dealership. I used to live with my sister but she's moving to Japan, well, her company sent her there for a year? So I need someone else for her room. It's a nice room, it's a double room, and it's furnished and everything. Do you want to come and have a look?"

He waited a moment to make sure she'd actually finished talking. "Yes, sure, if that's okay."

"Okay! After work? What department are you in? And what's your name! Sorry."

"Kris. I work in IT."

"Oh! Kris in IT! I know Kris in IT! You were up here the other day, you fixed our printer!"

"Probably? I fix a lot of printers."

"Okay. Tell you what, I'll give you my mobile and you can ring me when you're leaving work and you can come and see, okay?"

"Okay, that sounds great."

* * *

The flat was only ten minutes walk away, and it was pretty nice and spacious and modern. Anna clearly wasn't the tidiest person ("I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone would come by today or I'd have tidied up! At least you can see what I'm actually like to live with") but it was pretty clean underneath it all. The room itself was fine and the price was in his budget.

And Anna seemed to like him, though he got the impression she was a fairly friendly person anyway.

"Are you sure you don't mind living with a bloke?"

"Why? Are you going to steal my knickers and sell them on eBay?"

"Of course not!"

"Peek at me in the shower? Try and cop a feel while I'm doing the washing up?"

"No! Jesus."

"Then we're all right, aren't we." She was grinning. "Do you want the room? Because, Lynn at the next desk said she was looking for somewhere to live, and I told her someone was already coming to look round, and she said 'well if they don't want it let me know' and I don't want to live with her. She's a bitch. But if I just tell her no she'll be all snotty with me for MONTHS."

"You want me to take the room so you don't have to live with your bitchy colleague."

"Yes. Please."

Anna smiled at him hopefully. He couldn't help but notice that it was a very pretty smile.

"Okay. Yes."


	2. Chapter 2

Anna sang in the shower (pop songs mainly, occasionally musical theatre). She sang while she was cleaning, while she was cooking, while she was looking for something, while she was waiting for something. She sang as she was walking up the stairs.

Anna did her laundry on a Saturday afternoon and hung it on the radiators to dry, but never put it away, so even halfway through the week there was still a cheerful line of underpants and t-shirts in his peripheral vision as he watched television in the living room.

Anna ate Weetabix for breakfast and didn't do the washing up until after work, by which time the cereal had set hard like cement and all her bowls were constantly slightly crusty (at least until Kristoff started soaking the breakfast dishes before he left in the morning).

Anna wasn't so much cheerful as enthusiastic, about everything. He had no idea where she got her energy but she had plenty of it for the things that interested her (a list that changed daily). Even when she was lying on the sofa in the evening she did it to maximum capacity, stretched out and using all the cushions and blankets, watching television and texting a friend and reading a magazine at the same time..

Anna would sleep until lunchtime if left to her own devices, and Kristoff got in the habit of knocking on her bedroom door once he was finished in the bathroom on work mornings, to make sure she got out of bed. The speed with which she could get ready in the morning was truly impressive, however, and she was never late for work.

Anna always answered the phone before the second ring and once had a twenty-minute conversation with his mother before he realised who she was talking to.

Anna (in only a towel, toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, wandering into the living room to find a clean pair of knickers) had the shapeliest legs he'd ever seen - not long, it was true, but definitely perfectly-formed.

Anna talked almost constantly. If she was awake, and not eating - or at least not eating much - then she was talking. After a few days he wondered if her sister had actually been transferred to Japan by her work or if she had fled the country in search of peace and quiet. After a few weeks he stopped noticing it and only noticed how quiet it was when she wasn't there.

Anna was resolutely single ("Men are such a WASTE OF TIME, I don't think I've ever met one who wouldn't lie right to my face. Present company excepted! But I've given up on them altogether. A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle, am I right? Not worth the effort.").

Anna had long red hair that she styled differently almost every day, in plaits or clipped up or in a ponytail. But he liked it best when she left it down; it made him want to run his fingers through it.

No it didn't.

Well, fuck.


	3. Chapter 3

When Kristoff got in from the supermarket, early Saturday evening, Anna was kneeling up on the counter in the kitchen, reaching into the top of one of the cupboards.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully, her back still to him. "You'd better not be staring at my arse."

"Of course not." He wouldn't describe himself as _staring,_ as such. Though he had noticed it.

"Good. How about now?" And she wiggled her bum at him, then turned round and grinned. "Have you seen my popcorn?"

"No," he replied, turning his back to put his bags on the other counter (and also to hide his face, as he was sure he was blushing). Anna shuffled along the counter on her knees and looked in the next cupboard. "Oh, here it is. Eurovision tonight!"

"Really? You watch that?"

"OF course. Everyone does. Including you, today, unless you're going to hide in your room."

She hopped down, briefly inspected the shopping he was putting away, then wandered over to the microwave.

"Are you eating popcorn for dinner again?"

"Popcorn is very nutritious. It's a _wholegrain_. And I went to Prezzo for lunch with Amy and I had a whole pizza and garlic bread _and_ profiteroles so I don't need a proper meal now." Anna hummed to herself as she took the popcorn out of the microwave and tipped it into a bowl. She left the room and a moment later he could hear the television being turned on in the lounge.

* * *

They had been sharing the flat for nearly four months now and, in the last week or so, Kristoff had been forced to admit to himself that he had a problem. A problem with Anna.

Sleeping with your flatmate was a really bad idea, wasn't it (even assuming she would be interested in that, and that was a pretty big if). He liked living here, and she was fairly easy to live with now he was used to her, and it would be really stupid to mess that up just because she had nice legs. And a cute smile. And a way of biting her lip when she was concentrating that was both incredibly adorable and incredibly hot at the same time.

Ugh. If they didn't live together he'd have asked her out weeks ago, or been working up to it, at least.

* * *

When he took his dinner plate into the living room, Anna had made a kind of nest at one end of the sofa with at least three blankets, the remote control, her popcorn and her phone.

"You missed Azerbaijan, Spain and the Czech Republic," she informed him.

"I dare say I'll get over it." He sat at the table and tried to ignore the pop music as he ate.

Part of the problem, he knew, was that behaviour he would have had no trouble categorising as 'flirting' in another woman was just, well, Anna being Anna. She was naturally very friendly and outgoing and - he looked over just in time to see her stick her hand down her t-shirt, fish around in her cleavage for an errant piece of popcorn, and then put it in her mouth - she was used to living with her sister. Not with a man.

She caught him watching her and looked abashed. "Sorry. Disgusting."

"No, you're all right, I was just wondering -" _If you needed any help there_ , he thought, and half-wished he was the kind of man who actually said things like that.

"What?"

"Nothing." He turned back to his dinner.

"No, what?"

"Ah - why is Australia on this thing, anyway?"

"I don't know! They're new this year. It is odd, isn't it? Catchy song, though."

"I guess."

When he'd finished his dinner, and stood up to take his plate into the kitchen, Anna started shuffling her things and making space for him on the sofa. When he came back through, she smiled at him hopefully and, oh, what the hell. Watching the Eurovision Song Contest wouldn't kill him.

* * *

He was sitting right next to her. Right there. His arm was maybe two inches away from hers.

Just her luck. Just her luck that the first decent man she'd met in _years_ was her flatmate, so she couldn't do anything without making everything weird, and she didn't want to have to find somebody new for the room, and ugh. Why'd some random bloke from IT have to be so nice and decent and funny and, yes, good-looking.

She wondered if she could get away with resting her head on his shoulder. Maybe if she pretended to fall asleep?

No, bad idea.

Maybe she should ask if he wanted to sleep with her, just to get it out of her system. One night of mad passion then back to being friends. OK, don't think about that in any sort of detail when he's sitting next to you, Anna.

She snorted a laugh and tried to cover it with a cough.

"You all right?"

"Mm. Sorry."

He smiled (that smile, _ugh_ ) and shifted a bit in his seat. Now he was practically touching her. And she _was_ feeling a teensy bit sleepy. If she wriggled a bit like this - and rested her head on the cushion like this - then when she dozed off it would slip slightly sideways like _this..._

* * *

Her head dropped against his shoulder as her eyes drifted shut, and something lurched in his chest.

He was in so much trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

_leaving now? x_

no got to do these server upgrades

will take for effing ever

won't be home til at least ten

 _ok have fun, see you later x_

* * *

'Have fun' indeed. As if he didn't have anything better to do than upgrade the software on servers that were apparently far too important and valuable to be taken offline during office hours, so he had to waste his evening doing it.

I mean, he had a film to watch on his laptop and he wouldn't now have to come in until lunchtime tomorrow but that was neither here nor there.

In the end, though, it didn't take as long as he'd feared. The main bulk of the work was done by eight and after he'd tidied up and checked everything Kristoff was heading home by half-past.

* * *

He let himself into the flat and kicked off his shoes, then wandered towards the kitchen. As he walked past Anna's door he heard her call "Kristoff!" so he opened the door and put his head in to her room. And withdrew it immediately, slamming the door shut behind him.

Anna had been on her bed. Anna had been on her bed, on her back, in her dressing gown. Anna had been on her bed, on her back, with her dressing gown open (and nothing beneath it), and her hand stroking between her legs.

Calling his name.

Kristoff stood in the hall, frozen in place. He'd never actually understood the idea of wanting the earth to open up and swallow you whole, but now he did. This went beyond embarrassment; this was cataclysmic. And she had definitely seen him, her eyes flicking open in horror as he retreated. He wasn't going to just have to move out of the flat, he was probably going to have to leave the country.

Through the red haze of his intense embarrassment, though, a little voice in his head kept saying the same thing over and over. _She likes you too, she likes you too._ Hell, she didn't just LIKE him; a moment ago she'd been actively fantasising about having sex with him.

Kristoff stood there for a few minutes. Silence from behind Anna's door. One of them had to say something. He took a deep breath.

"Anna?"

A pause, then a very quiet "Yeah?"

"Anna, I - I'm really, really sorry. So sorry, you have no idea. I can't believe I didn't knock, that was unforgivably rude of me. And - "

The image of her on the bed flashed up in his mind. Fuck.

"- and I'm just going to go and throw myself in the river, don't wait up."

"Kris, wait." Anna opened her door and leant on the doorframe. Her dressing gown was wrapped firmly around her and tied tight.

"Um," she said. "I suppose it's too late to tell you about all the other people I know called Kristoff?"

"Really?"

"Yes, heaps of them. Celebrities, too, so many actors called Kristoff."

"Musicians. Comedians."

"Yeah. It's, y'know. A common name."

He nodded. Anna was looking at her feet. Her bare feet, at the end of her bare legs. He needed to get out of here, just for a few minutes. "Okay, well - I was going to go to the Star of Bengal and get a takeaway, do you want anything? My treat."

"Uh, yeah, sure - the banana thing? And naan. Thanks."

* * *

By the time he got back, Anna had dressed in jogging trousers and a hoodie, though her feet were still bare. She was draining a glass of wine, which she then refilled from the bottle, and she nudged another full glass towards him as he unpacked her chicken kashmiri and naan bread.

"Take the edge off," she said, "and you'll feel better."

Well, maybe she had a point.

After the glass he could manage to sit at the table with her and occasionally make eye contact, but they ate mostly in silence. Anna's usual volubility made the quiet now seem even more uncomfortable. Then, as Kristoff was finishing his meal, she spoke.

"While you were out I was thinking."

"About?"

"About how - look, we're both attracted to each other, aren't we? And I mean I don't know how much of that would happen anyway, and how much is just, like, proximity. And I haven't had a boyfriend in forever and I get the idea you've been single for a while, too. So, you know. And I was thinking that maybe the best way to deal with that would be just to, you know, do it."

Her eyes flicked up to his face. "Just, like, as a one-off thing," she continued. "One time and then we never speak of it again. Get it out of our systems. What do you think?"

Kristoff's mind raced, trying to find the right words to turn her down without upsetting her - rejecting while not rejecting, in a sense. But before he could frame the sentence, he heard his treacherous mouth say "Okay, yes. Sure."

I mean, how much more awkward could things get?


	5. Chapter 5

"So, tonight?"

Kristoff swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "Tonight. Sure. Tonight, why not."

"OK! OK, excellent. Um. I'm just gonna go and, brush my teeth, then I'll be in my room, OK? Come through when you're ready. OK."

She nodded to herself, got up, and was halfway across the room before she turned back and spoke to him again.

"Oh, by the way, you don't have chlamydia or anything, do you?"

"I - no?"

"Okay good because I don't have any condoms." She disappeared into the bathroom for a moment then poked her head back round the door. "I've an IUD for the other thing, I had it put in a couple of years ago, it's brilliant." And she was gone.

For want of anything else to do, and full of nervous energy, he did the washing up and tidied up the kitchen. He heard Anna come out of the bathroom but she slipped into her bedroom before he could catch her eye so he went and brushed his own teeth - it seemed polite somehow, since she'd mentioned it - and stood outside her door. It was ajar. He knocked, and pushed it open.

Anna was sitting on the edge of the bed but she jumped up when she saw him. He pushed the door shut behind him and stepped forward, heart hammering.

"Um. Kristoff?"

"Yes?"

"I was thinking that, just - if we're going to do this, we should just DO it. Don't be awkward and polite and British and everything, just. You know."

"Go for it."

She bit her lip. "Yeah."

She stepped forward until she was right in front of him, took a deep breath, and put her hand on his chest. The soft pressure was warm through his t-shirt and he wondered if she could feel how fast his heart was beating. He bent forward and she pressed up eagerly to kiss him.

He expected it to feel clumsy, and it did for a moment; but then he felt her relax into the kiss, wrapping her arms round his neck. He cupped the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair, and she made a noise somewhere between a hum and a groan, her lips still pressed to his.

And from that moment it was all over for Kristoff. Of course if she'd wanted him to stop, he would have; but he stopped resisting, stopped worrying about tomorrow. He wanted her and she wanted him and nothing else mattered.

He scooped her up in his arms and laid her on the bed, dropping her the last few inches. Anna made a small surprised noise and he knelt over her for a breathless moment, until she pulled his face back down to hers, before running her hands over his back, first above and then below his t-shirt. He broke away for a moment to pull it off over his head and throw it aside. He lay beside her to free his hands and she rolled towards him, hooking a leg over his thigh to draw him closer.

Anna wasn't talking now, but she was still never silent - there was always a hum, a sigh, a soft moan, an impatient noise when he slid his hand under her top but kept it at the level of her waist (she nudged it upwards with her elbow until he cupped her breast, then almost cried out as he rolled her nipple between his finger and thumb through the fabric of her bra).

She had her leg completely wrapped round his hip now, rocking against him as they kissed frantically. Suddenly she shoved his shoulder, pushing him onto his back, and he watched, trying to catch his breath, as she stripped off her clothes. "God, you're gorgeous," he muttered as she straddled him, the legs he'd covertly admired previously now wrapped around his.

Anna looked embarrassed. "I'm just me."

"You're beautiful," he told her firmly, and she half-shrugged.

He put his hands on her hips to pull her against him but she scooted back, sitting on his thighs to undo the fly of his jeans. She slipped her hand inside his underwear, running her palm over his erection, and he instinctively bucked upwards into her touch. She grinned, gripping him now as she ran her hand up and down, and he pushed his jeans and underwear down to give her the room she needed.

Then she stopped, but only to pull off his clothes completely and drop them on the floor. Anna sat back on her haunches and looked him up and down, smiling to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just - well, I knew you were tall, and I knew you had large hands and feet - and, well. I'm not disappointed."

"I'm glad to hear it. Is that your official review, 'I'm not disappointed'?"

She laughed. "When I'm providing you a reference? I don't think I have enough information to do that, yet."

"Alright." He sat up, took her shoulders, and gently pressed her down onto the bed. "Let me know how I get on."

Anna lay back with her arms above her head. Her expression was challenging but also still slightly unsure - almost as if she didn't expect Kristoff to like what he saw.

He kissed her neck and it made her squirm, wriggling her shoulders against the sheets. He kissed her collarbone and she arched her back, pushing up her breasts; so he kissed those, too, and smiled at the sounds she made. Every gasp and moan spurred him on as he continued down and between her legs, pushing her knees gently apart.

"You don't have to," she muttered as he put his mouth to her, but she soon forgot her protests. When he pushed two fingers inside her she cried out, then again, louder, as she came. Kristoff pulled back, slightly surprised; he'd certainly never had any complaints, but he hadn't expected that quick a result.

"I'm sorry," Anna gasped, her eyes still closed. "I didn't mean to - not yet, anyway -"

"It's okay," he said, grinning. "I owed you one, after all. For earlier. I interrupted you."

"Oh! I forgot about that." She looked up at him, still kneeling between her legs. "Come here, then."

Being inside her felt just as good as he had imagined, better, almost. Anna wrapped a leg round his hip, rocking up against each thrust, and he didn't know how long he could carry on, though he wanted it to last forever; he was just thinking he was glad she'd already had her orgasm when she came again, and the sensation of it and the sounds she made were enough that he couldn't have held on no matter how he tried. She clung to his shoulders and when he caught her eye they both smiled, then laughed.

"You have the best ideas," he said as he rolled over onto his back.

"Mm. I know." And before he could think of what to say next, she was asleep.

Goodness, she hadn't slept that well in _ages_. If she'd known he could do _that,_ she'd have had him doing it twice-nightly ever since he moved in.

And she felt good about it, too; very modern, almost. This was the twenty-first century, and if they wanted to, why not sleep together and have some fun! She didn't want a boyfriend, she had her career and her friends and that was fine; but everyone has _needs_.

It was just a bit of a shame that they'd agreed it would only happen that one time.

* * *

 _Two days later_

"OK," Anna said, examining Kristoff's bedroom ceiling. "We need to work out how this is going to - work."

"I think we're getting the hang of it," he replied idly, stretching.

"No, I mean - this isn't a relationship, is it? We're friends. Friends who - have sex sometimes. That's a thing, isn't it? That's definitely a thing."

"If you say so."

"OK, so - this is just between us, right? I mean, what happens here stays here. No one needs to know. Especially at work."

"OK."

"And especially my sister, because - well, when I told her a man was moving in she definitely implied that I was going to sleep with you, and I said I wasn't, and she sort of raised her eyebrow, and anyway. She doesn't need to know."

"Of course she doesn't."

"OK. All right, then."

They both lay there, looking at the ceiling. Then Anna tapped him on the shoulder. "Let me know when you're ready for another go."


	6. Chapter 6

After the first time Kristoff felt guilty, of course he did; especially when he remembered that Anna had been drinking (not that she was drunk, not at all, but still). Her cheerful singing in the shower the next morning made him feel better, and maybe it was a little awkward at breakfast, but Anna was so completely her normal friendly self that it was easy to move forward.

He wasn't even sure what happened the second time, except that one minute they'd been sitting next to each other on the sofa watching television and the next minute Anna had had her tongue down his throat and her hand down his trousers. All right, before that she'd gradually edged her way closer to him, looking at from under her eyelashes in a way that he'd soon learn to interpret, but at the time it had caught him off-guard. He'd picked her up and carried her through to his bedroom out of a vague desire to treat her properly but they'd ended up fucking - there was no other word for it - on top of the sheets, still half-dressed, a scant handful of minutes later.

And now?

He'd never really understood the point of the whole 'friends with benefits' thing. If you were friends with someone and also wanted to sleep with them then why not just go out with them? But he supposed it _was_ simpler. And Anna seemed to think that after a while it would burn out and then they would just be friends again. And it wasn't as if he could now go back in time to before he'd slept with her so he might as well enjoy it, Anna certainly was (very vocally, usually).

Oh, where was the harm.

* * *

Kristoff got home from work and let himself into the flat. It was silent but he knew Anna was home; her work bag and jacket had been thrown haphazardly over one of the hooks by the door. And in the middle of the hall, it looked like she'd dropped something else.

He bent down and picked up the pair of lacy green knickers. They'd been abandoned, right where he couldn't help but see them. It looked like she'd stepped out of them and just left them there.

Still holding the underwear, he walked through into the living room. Anna wasn't there. A small noise from the kitchen; a page being turned, perhaps. He followed the sound through into the next room, his heart thumping.

Anna was half-turned away from the door. She was bent forward over the worktop, leaning on her elbows, reading a magazine. She didn't look round when she heard him, but she smiled slightly and shifted her weight in her heels. She was dressed, outwardly at least, the same as when he had said goodbye to her at the office reception that morning; green shoes, a grey dress with a green floral print, her hair twisted up and held with a clip with a sunflower on it.

He watched her. She turned another page.

Two steps and he was across the room. Anna still didn't acknowledge him and he didn't speak, tension and lust colliding in his throat as he placed his hand on the outside of her thigh. He waited for a breathless moment, then slid his hand up and under her skirt. She exhaled, relaxing forward, as he ran his palm over her bare hip, fighting to keep his hand steady.

Still neither of them had said a word. Kristoff fought his inclination to ask if this was okay, if she wanted him to carry on; she was shifting her body so that his hand slid round and between her legs, of course she wanted him to carry on. Instead he pressed his erection hard against her as he stroked his fingers higher. Anna was rocking against his hand now, her breath coming in gasps, and he couldn't take it any more; he tore his belt undone, shoved down his trousers and underwear, threw Anna's skirt up over her back, and pushed into her.

She cried out as he filled her, bracing herself against the worktop. He hooked an arm round her waist, his other hand moving back between her legs so that he could stroke her there in time with his rhythm. He could see the tension in her shoulders, the arch of her back, until suddenly it released and she fell forward onto her elbows with a wail; he had almost to hold her up to continue, a last few thrusts before he came with a groan, as deep inside her as he could reach.

Silence, for a long moment. Then Anna let out a contented sigh, looked around, and grabbed the roll of kitchen towel. "I never think about this part, but this'll do. And thanks."

"Thanks?" He accepted a handful of paper towel and cleaned himself up.

"I needed that but I didn't know if you'd go for it."

"What man wouldn't?"

A cloud passed over Anna's features and she left the room without a word, heading for the bathroom.

"Anna?"

From behind the closed door he heard her voice. "Jesus, Anna, can't you put your dirty clothes in the fucking basket." There was a flush, then the taps running. "The kitchen? Really? I thought you were a _nice_ girl." She came out into the hall, expression bitter. "It's always sex with you, maybe if I had a Mickey Mouse job like you I'd have the energy to keep up, but some of us work for a fucking living."

She walked past him and back into the kitchen. He trailed after her. "I'm sorry."

"Why, you didn't say it. You have some post, hang on."

"Hey." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Does it help if I promise to always have the energy to keep up with you?"

She smiled. "Be careful, or I'll hold you to that."

"I'll look forward to it."

She handed him an envelope. "Seriously, Anna," he said as he opened it, "that was hot as fuck. If some arsehole didn't know what to do with you that's his loss."

"Thanks."

The envelope contained an invitation to Sven and his fiancée Jessica's wedding, which was now a couple of months away. As best man he knew the details, of course, but he scanned through it anyway, until Anna said "I'm sorry," in a small voice.

"Sorry? For what?"

"I guess I was - testing you? Sort of? And it wasn't fair."

"Did I pass?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Of course."

"Then we're fine." He smiled at her, as reassuringly as he could, then looked at the invitation again. "Hang on. This is addressed to Kristoff _and_ Anna."

"Ooh! I love weddings."

"Of course you do."

"Does he think we're a couple? Did you _tell_ him?"

"No! He probably just thought, Kristoff doesn't have a girlfriend, he can bring Anna. And he likes you."

She grinned. "He's trying to set us up."

"I - yeah. He's not very subtle."

"I don't care. Free dinner." She plucked the card from his hand. "Is it a posh do? Do you have to wear a suit and a waistcoat and a cravat and everything?"

"Uh, yeah. I think so. I have to go to a fitting next week."

"Nice. And give a speech?"

"Of course." He pulled a face.

"It's OK, I'll help you. I do presentations and things all the time, it's easy." She handed back the invitation. "And I'll practice saying 'Oh, no, we're not a couple. We're just friends.'"


	7. Chapter 7

The night was hot. Kristoff lay on top of his bed in his boxers, unable to sleep, his mind running over the earlier events. He couldn't believe someone as gorgeous as Anna - someone as hot and bright and full of life - had been going out with, presumably _living with_ , an arse like that.

Arse. Christ, when he'd put his hand up her skirt, and she'd been bare and wet and ready and waiting for him...

He ran his palm over the front of his boxers. It was past eleven, she'd be asleep. But what if she wasn't?

Outside her door, he said her name as softly as he could.

"Come in?"

Anna was lying in bed, reading. She sat up when he entered, and she was naked; the sheet fell away to reveal her breasts. "It's too hot for pyjamas," she said, completely unabashed. "What's up?"

"I - can't sleep."

"Me neither." She looked him up and down, and smiled at his obvious erection. "Take those off and come here, then."

She put down her book and held up the sheet, and he slipped into her bed. He put his hand on her hip and just looked at her. The bedside lamp behind her made her hair glow but her face was in shadow as she looked at him thoughtfully.

"So what did you want?" she said.

"I don't know. You."

"No, tell me. What are you into. What's your thing, everyone has a thing."

"God, I don't know. Nothing in particular. Women with no clothes on."

"Then - hmm. You want to spank me. You want to tie me up. You want me to tie YOU up."

"No, no, and _no_."

"You want to blindfold me and tie me up and whip me."

"No, and I'm really starting to worry about your previous relationships."

"What? Some people are into that."

"Are you?"

"Not especially, but, you know, I'm game."

"I'm not."

"What then?" She reached out and ran her fingers the length of his erection. "Tell me what you want and I'll do it."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

She tightened her grip, running her hand up and down. He groaned. "You are far too trusting."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"I want…"

"Yes?"

"I want to know your favourite position. And I want to do that. Until you scream my name and wake up all the neighbours."

She looked amused. "I'm fairly sure the old lady on this side is deaf."

"I'll have to do a good job, then."

"So let me get this straight," Anna said, still absentmindedly stroking him. "I'm offering you the chance to indulge any kink or fetish or fantasy, whatever you want, and you want to do whatever I want to do."

"Yes. But thanks for making me feel like the most boring person on the planet."

"Sorry."

She rolled onto her back and put her arms above her head. He followed her, leaning over to kiss her deeply on the mouth. Cupping a breast with one hand, he pulled away far enough to murmur against her lips "Actually, there is something I really enjoy."

"Mmm. Go on, then."

"I want to hear you say my name."

"Kristoff?"

"No, while I..."

He shifted to kiss her neck, her collarbone, her breast. When he sucked on her nipple she groaned, ending with a breathy " _Kris_..." that sent a shiver through him.

"Mmm. Like that. And tell me what you want me to do."

"Me," she laughed, her breath catching as he slid a hand up the inside of her thigh. "Come here, okay?"

"Missionary? After all that?"

"No! Well, not quite - okay, like that but then kneel - now." She wrapped her legs around his waist. "Like that. Nice and deep."

"Okay."

He put his hands on her hips to hold her in place as he fucked her. He quickly found the angle that made her gasp and arch her back, and when he pressed his thumb to her centre she moaned his name very satisfyingly. He had a wonderful view, her body spread out in front of him, her eyes screwed shut but every sensation and emotion written plain on her face. It was easy to follow her lead, to let his movements be dictated by her response, and if she didn't quite scream his name her volume was certainly impressive.

Afterwards he tried to pull her to him to curl up and sleep but Anna pushed him away.

"Go back to your own bed," she said, laughing. "You're all sweaty. It's too hot, go away."

"I'm tired. And there aren't any naked ladies in my bed." He squeezed her bum in illustration. "You see my dilemma."

"Go on, off with you."

"You're a cruel woman, Anna Rendell."

"I'm the best woman you'll ever meet," she said drowsily, already falling asleep as he got to his feet. "You know it's true."

"Mmm. Night."

"Night."

* * *

"Bad news," Anna said when he saw her that Saturday morning, wandering into the kitchen in her dressing gown. "I've got my period."

"Surely that's good news," Kristoff joked, "Considering how much casual sex you've been having recently."

She snorted. "You're right. Oh, god, can you _imagine_. We'd have to get married."

"Worse, you'd have to admit to your sister that you slept with me."

"Ugh, and her _face_. Oh, well, it's okay, I've fallen to the Communists."

"OK."

"The road is up for repair. I'm riding the cotton pony."

"I get the picture, thank you."

"Surfing the crimson wave. Arsenal are playing at home."

"Jesus. You're so weird."

"I have more! Wearing a red carnation. Got the decorators in." She grinned at him. "What time are we meeting your friends?"

"Is that a question or a euphemism? Noon, at the Swan, so we'll have to leave in half an hour or so."

"OK. I'll get dressed."

* * *

She was wearing the sunflower clip in her hair again. And shorts, and a yellow top with lace round the bottom, but it was hard not to notice the clip when it had been right in his vision when he had had her bent over the kitchen worktop. This wasn't going to burn itself out, was it? It was just going to feed on itself and keep going forever.

"This is PERFECT beer garden weather," Anna was saying. "Isn't it? Sunny and hot and glorious. Do you have sun cream on?"

"No?"

She tutted at him and rummaged in her bag. "Here. Bend forward."

"What?"

"So I can reach the back of your neck. There. Now I won't have to listen to you complaining about your sunburn all evening."

A grin and she was skipping - yes, literally skipping - along the pavement again. Kristoff realised he couldn't stop smiling as he followed her.

* * *

As well as emergency sun cream, Anna also had a quick eye and easily spotted a picnic table whose occupants were just leaving. Sven and Jessica arrived a few minutes after them and soon drinks were bought and lunch ordered. And it was a glorious day; and Anna and Jessica hadn't met before but got on wonderfully; and Kristoff sipped his pint and chatted with his friends and was perfectly happy.

"Just going to the loo before the food gets here," Anna said after a while, and left the table.

Kristoff looked across at his friends. They were grinning at him.

"What?"

"So?" Sven said.

"What."

"You two. Sitting there flirting with each other."

"Stop it. We're friends."

"You'd be so cute together," Jessica said.

"She keeps touching your arm," Sven added.

"Seriously, it is completely off the table, okay? End of."

"Oh," Jessica said, face sad. "Oh, he asked her out already and she said no."

"I didn't - she didn't - ugh." Kristoff buried his face in his hands.

"What's up?" Anna asked, climbing back into the picnic table next to him and dropping her bag on the floor.

"Nothing."

"You were talking about me!"

"Ah -"

"Sven was just saying," Jessica said hurriedly, "That he has a friend he thinks would be perfect for you."

"Really? Ha! No, I'm really not looking for anyone at the moment! Thanks though. But, yeah. I'm off men, indefinitely."

"Told you," Kristoff said. "Change the subject."

Anna looked at him sharply then turned back to face the table and said "OK, you guys have any pets? I always wanted a cat but my sister's allergic to them."

* * *

so seriously mate

you and anna

 _leave it sven_

at the pub last week she was smiling at you and touching your arm

she totally fancies you

and you like her right

all I heard today at the suit place was anna anna anna

 _..._

 _..._

 _what does it matter_

 _shes not interested_

you DO like her

 _you heard her_

 _we live together and it works really well_

 _we're friends_

 _she's not interested and I'm not going to push anything_

 _so leave it ok_

I'm sorry mate

maybe she'll change her mind

 _not holding my breath_

 _I'll live_

* * *

There was a knock on his open bedroom door.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Not much, why?"

"There's nothing on telly. Fancy a shag?"


	8. Chapter 8

All day long Anna had been wearing that sundress. It was yellow, with a white print, and it was fitted perfectly round her chest and waist but flared out over her hips, the skirt swirling with her every movement. When she sat it inevitably showed a slice of thigh, when she walked the material floated somehow and constantly displayed a glimpse of one part of her upper leg or another. At the back it was cut low enough to show the delicate angles of her shoulderblades. All day long he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her.

And now it was evening. The windows were open but the curtains were shut, blowing slightly in the breeze. Outside some neighbours were having a barbecue, and the smell of smoke and the muffled sound of their conversation drifted into the room. And Anna was underneath him on the sofa, making a soft little _oh_ in the back of her throat every time he thrust into her, as far as he could go, the skirt of that sundress up around her waist.

She had her face buried in his neck, hands gripping his shoulders, digging her fingernails into the fabric of his t-shirt, and how had they got here? The whole summer felt like a dream, a mirage. How did he get back onto solid ground?

* * *

Kristoff knocked on Anna's bedroom door after he came out of the bathroom the next morning, and went into his room to get dressed. But when he came out again in search of breakfast, her bedroom door was only just opening.

"You're going to be late," he said, then looked at her properly. Anna was leaning on the doorframe, looking pale and tired; her fringe was stuck to her forehead with sweat.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, stepping forward.

"No." She looked like she was going to cry. "I don't feel well."

"Jesus, Anna. Go back to bed." He put the back of his hand to her forehead. "You're on fire."

"I need the loo." She scrunched up her face. "Then I will. Do I have to go to work?"

"Of course not. You're going back to bed."

"Okay." She tottered into the bathroom.

By the time Anna crawled back under her duvet, Kristoff had put painkillers and a big glass of water on her bedside table and made sure her phone was close by and had a charger. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to ring Karen and then sleep...I'm all achy."

"Take some paracetamol. Ring me if you need anything, okay?"

"I will." She picked up her phone and frowned at it. "I just need some sleep, I kept waking up all achy and hot - no, don't touch me, you'll catch the lurgy."

"OK. I'll come home at lunchtime and check on you."

"You don't have to do that."

"It's not far."

"You don't have to."

He rolled his eyes and left.

* * *

At lunchtime, Kristoff found Anna sitting on the living room floor in her pyjamas.

"What are you doing up?"

"Where's the DVD remote? I can't sleep any more and I got bored, I want to watch a film."

"Get on the sofa. What do you want to watch?"

"Um. The Little Mermaid."

She climbed on to the sofa and watched him find the remote and her film. When he fetched her duvet and pillow and tucked her in she said "Why're you so nice to me?"

He looked at her, surprised. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. I can be pretty annoying."

"Yeah, but you let me play with your boobs, so."

"Tha's true." She snuggled down. He lined up the remotes, her phone and her drink on the coffee table where she could reach them. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'm not going to sleep any more, though."

"Okay." He fetched his lunch and sat in the armchair. "Your boss rang down and asked how you were. I said you were violently hungover."

"You _didn't."_

"No, I didn't. God, I haven't seen this film in forever."

"S'classic."

By the time he had finished eating and left to go back to work, she was already fast asleep.

* * *

When Anna woke it was early evening. The television was still on but the sound had been turned down; Kristoff was sitting in the armchair frowning at his laptop. He was wearing jeans with holes in the knees and a t-shirt, as he always did at home. He needed a haircut.

She'd spent so many years being lied to and cheated on and mucked around. It had definitely been time to say Enough, time to draw a line and concentrate on herself and the other parts of her life. The problem was that she'd always intended that that life would include a husband and a family at some point. In the past, when friends had earnestly told her that it was when you weren't _looking_ that you found what you needed, she had scoffed at them; how on earth did you find something if you weren't looking for it? But now she thought she knew what they had meant.

Kristoff looked up, saw her awake, and smiled. "Hey."

She smiled back, drowsily. "What's the time?"

"Just gone seven. How're you feeling?"

"Um. A bit better, I think? Hungry."

"Of course." He put the laptop down and stood up. "I got some of that stinky soup you like."

"Broccoli and stilton?"

"That's what I said. Do you want some toast with it?"

"Yes please. Thank you."

As he left the room she called after him. "And I'm poorly so you have to cut the toast into soldiers, okay?"

"Do I?"

"Yes. That's the rule."

"Well, if it's the rule."

If this were - a different situation, she knew she'd be thinking about how lucky she was. But it wasn't, and that had been her decision, and now she didn't know how to get to there from here.


	9. Chapter 9

_Kris are you on your way back?_

yes why

 _your mum is here and she found my knickers on the floor by your bed_

 _well she doesn't know they're mine_

seriously?

fuck

whose did you say they were

 _I didn't she was putting something in your room and she came out and asked if you had a girlfriend and I said no_

 _then she asked if you'd brought a woman back and I said no I didn't think so_

 _then she waved my own pants at me and said she found them by your bed_

 _so good luck with that_

anna why can't you look after your dirty laundry

I'm going to be in so much trouble

why can't my mother mind her own business I'm a grown man

 _she thinks it's pretty funny actually_

 _ok gtg I'm making the tea and I need to go back through_

 _OH NO WAIT I have an idea_

 _say you found them in your pocket the morning after svens stag do_

 _you said you ran into a hen party right_

 _say someone put them in your pocket as a joke_

yes

yes that'll work

you're a genius

 _I know_

and so modest

ok I'm downstairs, see you in a mo

 _I'll put the kettle back on_ _x_

* * *

Kristoff didn't look closely at the glowing numbers, but the first one was definitely a 2. He groaned and ran his hand over his face as there was second knock on his bedroom door. "Yes?"

Anna entered. He nearly said something like _you're insatiable, woman_ , but then he noticed that she looked like she'd been crying, so he managed "What's up?" instead.

"I'm sorry, it's stupid...I had a bad dream."

He held open the duvet and she climbed in. "Well, it wasn't a bad dream, it was a good dream….my mum and dad were alive, and they were here and we were here and Elsa, and we were all just sitting round and chatting and it was really nice….and then I woke up and I knew they were dead and I'll never see them again and I was so sad. And lonely." He held out an arm and she curled up with her head on his shoulder. "Can I sleep in your bed?"

"'Course."

"I miss them," she said quietly, after a moment.

He let his arm rest around her waist, and stroked her hair back from her face with his other hand.

"Of course you do. I can't imagine."

"It'll be five years in November. I wish you could meet them." She yawned, burrowing her head into his chest. "My mum would like you."

Silence, and he thought she was asleep until she spoke again.

"You always smell so nice. Like….cedar. And cardamom. And safety."

"How can someone _smell_ like safety?" Kristoff asked.

"Hmm? Just, like..." she put her arm round him and he pulled her tighter against his side. He listened to her breathing even out as she drifted into sleep and knew that he would keep her safe as long as she would let him.

* * *

His alarm went off at half seven. Kristoff turned it off, only remembering that Anna was in his bed when she said something like 'snohmornin-stooehee' and pulled the duvet over her head.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," he said, pulling the covers back. She opened one eye and scowled at him. It was adorable.

So he kissed her. Forgetting himself, perhaps, for a moment, but she certainly didn't seem to mind. Her response was languorous, slow but sure, running her hands up his body to hook the back of his neck, his shoulder. Her lower leg secured his knee between hers. He breathed deep, breathing her in, sliding his hands under her to press her body against his, cupping the back of her head.

She was soft and warm with sleep, her movements drowsy at first; but the longer and deeper he kissed her, the more she awoke, the more urgently she rocked up against him. It was intoxicating. How had he lived without this?

"Too many clothes," Anna muttered, and she pushed him away for a moment.

"We'll be late for work," she added, as she pulled her pyjama top off and dropped it on the floor.

"I've been on time every morning for nearly two years," Kristoff replied, hooking his thumbs in the waistband of her pyjama shorts and sliding them down her legs. "So I don't care. I'm going to take my time."

* * *

In the end they weren't that late. Kristoff had barely sat down at his desk, though, before his phone was beeping, with a text message that read 'if you get bored later the stationery cupboard on fifth has a door that locks'. This time 'you're insatiable, woman' did seem like the right response, and it earnt him a winking smiley face.

is that actually a thing people do?

have sex in the stationery cupboard

 _it could be_

 _quickie between the envelopes and the biros_

you're just joking

right anna

right?

 _give me a time and meet me there and you could find out_

don't you have work to do

 _oh god tons_

 _but all I can think about is you fucking me against the back of the door_

JESUS

now that's all I can think about

not in a stationery cupboard though

when we get home

 _ok I'm holding you to that_

 _meet you out front straight after five_

 _we'll be home by ten past_

 _I want you inside me by eleven past_

 _sound good?_

sounds amazing

you're amazing


	10. Chapter 10

He'd put on the suit and the waistcoat and the cravat (and Anna had straightened it for him, the tip of her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth). He'd cleaned his car and got his hair cut. He had the rings and his speech. Time to get his best friend married.

The wedding and reception were both taking place at a country hotel a few miles away. As he had best man duties to perform in the morning Anna was meeting him there, just before the ceremony, and she had convinced him that no one would notice if they shared a room for the night.

("If anyone asks, we'll say I was planning to take a taxi home, then I was really tired or drunk so you let me sleep on your floor."

"They'll know something's up."

"Well, it's stupid to pay for two rooms. I'm not booking one, you'll either have to let me in or send me home. And I'll make it up to you," with a wink.

So now her toothbrush and a change of clothes were in his overnight bag)

* * *

In the end it wasn't until he was standing at the top of the aisle with Sven - who looked like he was going to throw up - that he saw Anna. She was taking a seat about halfway back in the rows of chairs, and she looked up and caught his eye as she smoothed her skirt over her knees. He had last seen her first thing that morning, wandering around in her pyjamas, but now she was of course fully made-up, in her new green dress, her hair swept up on top of her head. She looked stunning.

For a split second he felt like he was the one standing at the top of the aisle waiting for his bride. Then he blinked, and Anna was turning to answer a hello from the woman sitting next to her, and Kristoff slapped Sven on the shoulder to cover his confusion.

* * *

It wasn't just what he wanted to do to her - yes, he did want to drag her behind a pillar and completely ruin her lipstick, but he also just wanted to hold her hand. He wanted to kiss the top of her head, and put his arm round her waist. He hadn't expected it to be this difficult to put aside the casual intimacy they shared at home.

He wanted to be able to say _And this is Anna, my girlfriend._

He kept having to remember himself, keeping his hands in his pockets. He circulated among the guests, he checked details with the staff. Anna would talk to anybody, but every time he heard her say 'oh, I'm a friend of Kristoff's - no, just friends!' it cut him like a knife.

"Now," the photographer said, "The two of you and the best man. And his young lady, the young lady in green, isn't it?"

"No," Sven said, rolling his eyes. "She's not his girlfriend."

* * *

Sven had actually asked Kristoff if he wanted to sit with Anna for the meal, given that she wouldn't know anyone else there, but he'd just breezily replied that Anna loved meeting new people and wouldn't care at all. Now he was kicking himself, sitting at the top table next to Sven's mother as etiquette dictated. Anna seemed to be sitting at a table with other friends of the bride and groom, and was chatting away merrily to the young man on her left. Kristoff didn't know who he was, but he hated him.

He gave his speech, and even though Anna had heard it ten times before she still gave him all her attention, smiling and laughing at the appropriate points. There was a strange tightness in his chest every time she looked over at him, a physical ache. It was hard to concentrate.

* * *

At 7pm Kristoff found himself at a loose end. The evening guests weren't arriving just yet; the guests already there were mainly in their rooms or sitting in the bar. Sven and Jessica had disappeared and he wasn't going to ask where. He decided to go and look for Anna.

She was in the garden behind the hotel, twirling an empty glass between her fingers. She put it down on the wall when she saw him.

"There you are! Everything going okay?"

"Yes, fine."

"It's - oh, blast, quick -" and she grabbed his hand and dragged him round a corner and along a gravel path.

"What? Who is it?"

"That idiot I was sat with at dinner, Steve something - I think he thinks I fancy him, I was just being friendly - has he gone?"

"I think so."

"Good."

She still had his hand, and she led him along the path, further from the hotel and the rest of the guests. Behind a stand of rhododendrons she turned and kissed him, suddenly but deeply. After a long moment she pulled away, breathing hard, and said "Sorry."

"It's OK." He wrapped his arms round her waist and pulled her close. "I don't know how I've managed to keep my hands off you today. You look so beautiful. Gorgeous."

She ran her hands over his lapels. "We could go to your room."

"There's not enough time….later."

"Not enough time? That sounds like a challenge."

"And _that_ sounds like we'd better go back, before you start molesting me."

Anna smiled, then pulled a face and wiped a bit of lipstick from the corner of Kristoff's mouth with her thumb.

"Am I alright?"

"You're fine."

"Let's go back, then."

"Okay."

Neither of them moved. Anna leant forward slightly and rested her head against his chest. He held her and thought all the words he couldn't say.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," the DJ announced, "the bride and groom will now have their first dance."

Kristoff knew what song it was, having had to hear much discussion of this very important choice; At Last, by Etta James. He smiled to watch his friends take the floor. They had had a perfect day, it had all gone smoothly, and they both looked so happy.

 _At last, my love has come along_

 _My lonely days are over_

 _And life is like a song_

He glanced down at Anna, standing next to him. She was watching the dancers, smiling to herself. A lock of hair had fallen to the side of her face and the urge to tuck it behind her ear was overwhelming.

 _At last, the skies above are blue_

 _My heart was wrapped up in clover_

 _The night I looked at you_

After the first two verses, the parents of the bride and groom joined the happy couple on the dancefloor, and he felt Anna tugging on his arm.

"Come on," she hissed at him. "You're the best man, you have to dance. Come _on."_

She pulled him onto the dancefloor and put her hands on his shoulders. Kristoff clasped his hands loosely round her waist. The charade they had been playing all day now felt almost impossible, with her so close and so beautiful, looking up at him with bright eyes.

 _You smiled and then the spell was cast_

 _And here we are in Heaven_

 _For you are mine, at last_

The song finished; people clapped as the bride and groom left the dancefloor. Kristoff knew he should let Anna go but instead he found himself placing his hands flat on her back, holding her against him. One of Anna's hands had also drifted, from his shoulder to the nape of his neck, her fingers tangling slightly in his hair.

There were a hundred other people in the room, but he was aware of only one as he leant forward and kissed her waiting lips.

* * *

"I love you," he confessed, when they separated a short while later.

"I know," Anna replied, "but thank you for finally saying it." She grinned at him. "I love you, too."

(And if the kiss that followed was marred slightly by Sven exclaiming 'fucking _finally_ ' in the background, at least it was redeemed by knowing that there would be many, many more)

 _Fin_


End file.
